Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray lead Nuggets to win over Hornets

Bennett Durando, The Denver Post on Dec 7, 2025

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The Denver Nuggets have won 10 consecutive road games for the first time in franchise history after earning a 115-106 victory at the Charlotte Hornets Sunday.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Nuggets leaders at their best

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray continued to carry their team on the road, like star players are supposed to do. Murray started fast, scoring 23 of his team-leading 34 points in the first quarter. On a night his 3-pointer wasn’t falling like it was in the last two wins, he got to the rim and found space in the midrange. He also didn’t force bad decisions throughout the game as Charlotte’s focus shifted to him, tallying six assists and no turnovers on a 14-for-25 shooting night.

Jokic went for 28 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, passing Michael Jordan and tying Chauncey Billups for 51st on the all-time list. Next up for him to catch is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who’s 24 assists ahead with 5,660.

The Nuggets center has been playing with a trifecta of fresh red scratches across his upper right arm this week, as if a grizzly bear got ahold of him. The culprit? Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, Jokic said. But the plot twist is that “I fouled (him).”

The 30-year-old also denied the notion that it’s one of his gnarliest scratches of his career, despite how it looks. “I’ve had a couple of good ones,” he said.

Opponents are launching 3s

Throughout the league, increased 3-point volume has been a major talking point in recent years. It’s no longer out of the ordinary to see a team attempt 40 in a game. But the Nuggets are allowing 38.5 attempts per game, eighth-most in the league this season. With a defense that often shrinks to protect the interior, they’ve been floating around the top-10 in fewest paint points allowed per game. But the ball often gets funneled to the perimeter, as was the case in Charlotte.

The Hornets went 14 of 46 from deep, becoming Denver’s fifth opponent in the last seven games to attempt 42 or more 3-pointers. Those shots enabled them to keep up with Denver’s high-powered offense early in the game, but eventually, the well dried out, like it did for the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

The Nuggets can be smart about who they leave open and close out with high effort, of course, but even that can be risky in a league where there’s a premium on 3-point shooting. They’re currently giving up 20.4 wide open 3-point tries per game, according to league data, which is the ninth-most. Fortunately for them, opponents are a pedestrian 34.2% on those looks — the second-lowest clip against any team on wide-open 3s. (Only the Warriors are luckier.)

Ultimately, the Nuggets will never turn down a game with fewer than 110 points allowed. Charlotte’s 106 were the fewest a team has scored against Denver since Indiana on Nov. 8.

Best start in franchise history

The Nuggets improved to 17-6 with the perfect three-game road trip — their winningest first 23 games of a season ever. They’re on a 60.6-win pace, which remains on track to break the franchise record of 57.

They’re about to enter an awkward portion of the NBA calendar that will allow them to rest before a road-heavy January. Eliminated from the NBA Cup, Denver will get three days off before facing Sacramento in a “replacement game,” another three days off before hosting Houston, then two more days off before the normal schedule resumes.

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